Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Nicollet Investment Management Inc.

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,038 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 4.6% of Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total value of $252,797.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,467,522.10. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total value of $21,695,565.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 583,505 shares of company stock valued at $385,495,911. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $576.36 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $654.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $610.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.